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Bake up a batch of these moist bakery style lemon poppy seed muffins in under an hour! This lemon poppyseed muffin recipe has a sweet lemon glaze that packs delicious citrus flavor in every bite.
For more muffin recipes, try these bakery style chocolate chip muffins and my all time favorite blueberry muffins!
Table of Contents
No matter the time of year, I always have a batch of these muffins on hand. They’re perfect for breakfast with a cup of coffee and are equally enjoyable as a nice afternoon snack. This lemon poppy seed muffins recipe always come out super fluffy and have a nice crunch from the poppyseeds that I really love – I’ve always been big on texture.
I added a delicious lemon glaze on top for that fresh lemon flavor that always satisfies my sweet tooth. I love a good lemon glaze, check out this lemon loaf – I’m all about the glaze!
If you’re in search of the perfect lemon poppy seed muffin, this recipe is it. All you need are a few simple ingredients, a 12-cup muffin tin, and your appetite.
Grab your morning coffee and let’s get started. Happy Baking!
Ingredients
(full list of ingredients and quantities in the recipe card below)
Butter: I always use real salted butter for flavor – it also adds some moisture and makes for a perfect muffin. You can use unsalted butter if you prefer.
Vegetable oil: oil adds a moist texture to these bakery-style muffins.
Sugar: this recipe calls for white sugar. I didn’t add brown sugar because I didn’t want the caramel notes of the brown sugar to compete with the lemony flavor.
Lemon Extract: you only need a tiny bit of lemon extract as it’s very strong but it enhances the lemon flavor.
Eggs: to provide lift and structure to the muffins.
Sour cream: for moisture and flavor! Whole milk yogurt or greek yogurt work as a substitute here as well.
Lemon Juice: for added lemon flavor, this is a must! I recommend using fresh lemon juice for best results. However, store bought works too!
Lemon Zest: the lemon zest is a must. Rubbing the lemon zest and sugar together is key to the ultimate lemon flavor!
Leaveners: baking powder and baking soda give these muffins that nice dome shape!
Poppy seeds: crunchy poppy seeds add such a beautiful texture to these fluffy muffins.
Kosher salt: I always recommend using kosher salt over iodized salt. It has a better flavor and doesn’t have that bitter salty taste.
Substitutions
- If you’re running low on sour cream, you can sub it out for greek yogurt instead.
- For a healthier alternative to vegetable oil, you can use coconut oil instead.
- Vegan version: sub out milk and sour cream for your favorite vegan alternatives. Use the same amounts listed in the recipe card.
- Gluten Free: use a 1-to-1 baking flour instead of all purpose flour.
Tips
- Do not overmix your batter. Mix batter until just combined to avoid tough muffins.
- Use fresh lemons for the lemon zest and lemon juice. If you can find meyer lemons, I recommend using those as they have the best flavor!
- The secret to the best homemade muffins is to let the batter rest for at least 15-20 minutes. This allows the flour in the batter to absorb the moisture, yielding a fluffy tender muffin that has those sky high domes like a bakery muffin!
- If you don’t have fresh lemons for zesting, you can use store bought lemon juice. Just be sure to add an extra teaspoon of lemon juice.
How to make Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and poppy seeds. Set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, combine sugar and fresh lemon zest. Rub together, pinching the lemon zest and the sugar together. This gives the muffins a stronger lemon flavor. (Image #1)
- Then combine room temperature eggs, melted butter, oil, vanilla extract, sour cream, fresh lemon juice, vanilla extract, lemon extract, lemon zest and milk. Whisk together until all ingredients are fully incorporated. (Image #2)
- Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. (Image #4)
- Cover the bowl and allow the muffin batter to rest for 20 minutes in the refrigerator.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Grab a 12-cup muffin pan. Add the muffin liners to every other muffin cup. Fill the muffin cups with 1/3 cup of the batter – to the top.
- Bake at 425 degrees F for 5 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for an addition 10-12 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of a muffin.
- To make the glaze, mix together melted butter, lemon juice, and powdered sugar. Drizzle on top of the muffins and enjoy.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! Muffins can also be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to eat them, let them sit at room temperature until fully thawed. Heat them up in the oven at 300 degrees F for 5-8 minutes.
The key to moist muffins is using enough fat and allowing the dough to rest prior to baking.
Yes, you should allow your muffins to rest. Doing this makes the muffins tender and soft and allows them to rise in the oven.
More Muffin Recipes
- Banana Nut Muffins
- Pumpkin Muffins
- Corn Muffins
- Chocolate Chip Banana Oatmeal Muffins
- Blueberry Muffins with Streusel Topping
- Zucchini Pumpkin Muffins
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If you make this recipe, please leave a star rating on the recipe card and comment below! You can also tag @BritneyBreaksBread on Instagram and hashtag #britneybreaksbread so I can celebrate your beautiful creations!
Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Equipment
- 12-cup Muffin Tin
- Muffin Liners
- Whisk
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (300 g) Sugar
- 3 tbsp Lemon Zest
- 3 cups + 2 tbsp (398 g) All Purpose Flour
- 3 tbsps Poppy Seeds
- 1 tbsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
- 2/3 cup (148 g) Vegetable Oil
- 2 large (100 g) Eggs, (room temperature)
- 1 (18 g) Egg Yolk
- 1/2 cup (120 g) sour cream, (room temperature)
- 2 tbsps (30 g) Lemon Juice
- 1 tbsp (15 g) Lemon Emulsion, (you can also use lemon extract)
- 1 1/2 tsp (8 g) Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 tsp Almond Extract
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp (270 g) Buttermilk, (room temperature)
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar and lemon zest. Pinch the zest into the sugar with your fingers until it becomes fragrant and the sugar takes on a pale yellow color. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and poppy seeds. Set aside. 1 1/2 cups Sugar 3 tbsp Lemon Zest 3 cups + 2 tbsp All Purpose Flour 1 tbsp Baking Powder 1/2 tsp Baking Soda 3 tbsps Poppy Seeds 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
- In a separate large bowl, combine vegetable oil, eggs, egg yolk, sour cream, lemon juice, vanilla extract, lemon emulsion, almond extract, and buttermilk. Whisk together until fully combined and smooth. 2/3 cup Vegetable Oil 2 large Eggs 1 Egg Yolk 1/2 cup sour cream 2 tbsps Lemon Juice 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract 1 tbsp Lemon Emulsion 1/2 tsp Almond Extract 1 cup + 2 tbsp Buttermilk
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined. Cover the muffin batter with plastic wrap and place into the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- While the batter is chilling, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Grab a 12-cup muffin pan. Add the muffin liners to every other muffin cup – you should have 6 cups with the muffin liners with a space between each muffin – this lets the muffins rise higher. Fill the muffin cups with 1/3 cup of the batter – to the top. Fill the empty muffin cups with water, about 1/2 way up. This prevents the muffins from drying out and also prevents the pan from warping in the oven.
- Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove and place onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Do not overmix your batter. Mix batter until just combined to avoid tough muffins.
- Use fresh lemons for the lemon zest and lemon juice. If you can find meyer lemons, I recommend using those as they have the best flavor!
- The secret to the best homemade muffins is to let the batter rest for at least 15-20 minutes. This allows the flour in the batter to absorb the moisture, yielding a fluffy tender muffin that has those sky high domes like a bakery muffin!
- If you don’t have fresh lemons for zesting, you can use store bought lemon juice. Just be sure to add an extra teaspoon of lemon juice.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Lemon poppy is my favorite! I’m excited to try this! Question- could I make this in a loaf pan instead? Thank you!
I haven’t tried it in a loaf pan, however, I do have a lemon loaf recipe that you can add 2 tbsps of poppy seeds to and bake in a loaf. Here’s the recipe link: https://britneybreaksbread.com/lemon-loaf/
Enjoy!
Fabulous recipe – the muffins were delicious — they came out moist and with the right texture. I had a GF sugar free guest arriving, so I took liberty of substituting GF 1-1 flour and a KAB 1-1 sugar substitute. Still the muffins came out so delicious my husband even liked them. I didn’t have lemon extract but still the lemon flavor came through. I Got confused at one point: After putting muffin tin into oven, bake at 425 degrees for 5 minutes. Then reduce heat to 350 degrees and make an additional 10-15 minutes. I highly recommend this recipe.
Thank you so much Kathy! I’m so happy that you were able to customize it to your liking and still have an amazing turnout! Cheers!